Freetown planner eyes bylaw for pot dispensary

If a medical marijuana dispensary or treatment center were to move into town, town authorities should have full control over where it should be located, according to Planning Board Vice Chairman Keven Desmarais.

By Jeffrey D. Wagner

The Herald News, Fall River, MA

By Jeffrey D. Wagner

Posted May. 8, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 8, 2013 at 8:03 AM

By Jeffrey D. Wagner

Posted May. 8, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 8, 2013 at 8:03 AM

FREETOWN

» Social News

If a medical marijuana dispensary or treatment center were to move into town, town authorities should have full control over where it should be located, according to Planning Board Vice Chairman Keven Desmarais.

That’s why Desmarais pitched to the board the idea of a bylaw that would pinpoint where in town such an establishment should be located. He and the Planning Board will have a bylaw hearing on Tuesday, May 14, at 7 p.m. at the Freetown Elementary School.

Desmarais said with the recent Attorney General’s ruling and talks of locating as many as five marijuana dispensaries in Bristol County, he said he thinks Freetown should be proactive. He said the proposed bylaw, which could appear before voters at the annual Town Meeting next month, would limit where a dispensary or treatment center could be located.

If it passes, the bylaw would allow a medical marijuana dispensary or treatment center in an Industrial 2 zone, which would be on Campanelli Drive, off Ridge Hill Road in Assonet Village.

Desmarais said that location is nestled next to a pond, railroad tracks and a highway. He said the location is perfect, because it is set away from residential and business areas.

Desmarais indicated that his bylaw proposal has courted mixed reviews. He said there is certainly “a fear factor” with such a bylaw proposal; however, some officials have said the location could be a bit restrictive. Others, he said, feel the opposite.

“In the long run, it’s about protecting the town’s best interest, and that’s why I brought it to the Planning Board,” Desmarais said.

Desmarais referenced a case in town in which reactive zoning led to controversy and a lawsuit. The former Monsour’s Town & Country restaurant proposed nude dancing at the establishment, which was nearby a residential area and a church on County Road.

Selectmen in 1999 granted a license for the nude dancing, and had no legal right to deny it.

The building burned down only a few days after selectmen approved the license. Eventually, the case wound up in court when the owners applied for but were denied a permit to rebuild a larger building.

In 2001, the town voted to allow nude dancing only in the Industrial 2 zone, the same location where a medical marijuana facility could be located.

Desmarais said that case alone should give the town a reason to be “proactive rather than reactive.”